Test drive Land Rover Freelander 2003 - 2007 SUV
Freelander in a tailcoat
The Land Rover took up the style. The equipment was left for later
The Land Rover Freelander of the former generation over six years of its existence managed to distinguish itself in the fact that the farthest 98th place took in the rating of the eminent British magazine Top Gear. There were too many complaints from the owners. A second-generation car, according to its creators, is a completely different matter, it should be in the first lines of the survey. Why? I asked myself a question, sitting behind the wheel of this news of the Russian market. Great Brother genes
The solidity of the Land Rover Freelander of the second generation is not original in itself all design solutions migrated here from the flagship Range Rover. For example, the shape of large front headlights, which slightly bite into the plastic of the bumper. And they illuminate the road, by the way, better. According to the manufacturer, the increase in the power of the light flow was about 70%. Indeed, in the dark, I had no problems.
It became more massive the front bumper. And in general, the face of Freelander now looks more menacing and modern, which, taking into account unwritten Russian rules, facilitates movement along the roads. It is worth it in the left row of the highway to get closer to the ahead of the car, as it takes to the side without confusion. Still: the headlight lamps climbed almost to the level of the rear window of an ordinary passenger car, it is impossible not to notice them. As for the stern, it flaunts with a new bumper and lanterns raised slightly higher than that of the previous version. True, the algorithm for their use is still not clear to me. The fact is that on modifications supplied to our country, only narrow glass stripes mounted in the bumper work, and full-fledged block pharars located on the wings for some reason are silent. For reasons, unknown to me, the manufacturer does not want to use additional fodder lights, which, by the way, are one of the elements of passive safety: the brighter and larger the light garland during braking, the less chance that the car traveling behind you will not have time to slow down in time. Such a solution, by the way, is applied to Mitsubishi Pajero of the latest generation, which is owned by one of my friends. Once he tried to breathe life into the rear lights on the corporate service, but the cost of the work turned out to be so significant that he decided to leave everything as it is.
Sports is always to face
However, we will continue with Freelander. The changes inside the cabin are slightly more. Firstly, new pads on the door appeared, more voluminous and with roomy troughs in the lower part. In addition, they have now become a haven for the windows control unit, which previously very often scolded for the inaccessibility and blindness of the position in the central tunnel. But what is noteworthy: the plastic panel above the lever of the hand brake, on which they were attached earlier, did not undergo changes, so now there are two simple plugs. By the way, the trunk door control button is also located here, a long -standing and rather original solution for the European jeep, which the designers decided to save in a new car. In addition, they changed the registration and buttons to turn on the rear window. If earlier they were almost at the hand of the driver along the edges of the instrument panel, now they are taken to the very top of the central console. To touch them, you need to tear off the brush from the steering wheel.
In general, the location of the keys in the Land Rover Freelander is not indisputable. For example, those who are responsible for heating the frontal and rear glasses were perched at the very bottom. After I set up a driver's seat under myself, they disappeared from sight. Although the new console itself looks much more modern. On it, as before, there was a place for the radio, climate control unit, ashtray and cigarette lighter. Below, it smoothly goes into the overlay above the tunnel, where a changed panel around the gear lever stained under aluminum is striking in the eye. However, the entire salon is moderately decorated with silver overlays, creating a feeling of now fashionable sporty lifestyle. Separate gratitude deserve conveniently stained chairs, which were previously installed exclusively on powerful and luxurious HSE modifications. Now they are included in the standard completion of all versions. The only drawback of the lack of adjustment in height. For example, my growth is not so large, I am just over 180 cm, but there was little space above my head. Of course, I did not touch the ceiling even disheveled under the hat, but the sensation of the spaciousness clearly did not reach. As, however, and normal armrests. They still have in the car, but are so low that they will be just right for my miniature wife. I know that my hands must always be held on the steering wheel and not leaning on something, but in traffic or on the highway I would not mind resting my left elbow for something else, except for the narrow windowsill of the door.
The back of the cabin has not changed. There is still enough space for tall passengers, and in the ceiling there are grid pockets for any little things. In the trunk, everything is also closing the niche in the floor, which can serve as a safe for valuable things. Such different weddings
The good old V6 engine is good without any reservations. The 2.5-liter engine honestly spins to 6500 rpm, accelerating the almost two-ton SUV to 100 km/h in just 11.1 s. A good indicator, frankly. The impression of temperament spoils the five -speed automatic machine. He switches the programs really more smoothly compared to his predecessor, but a little longer than you expect, especially against the background of enviable dynamics. But the main minus of the automatic transmission, thoughtfulness, if necessary, accelerate sharply, for example, to complete overtaking. You live the gas pedal on the floor and wait for a few painful moments while the box moves from the fifth to the fourth, then from the fourth to the third. Moreover, even the sports regime, which is activated by the movement of the lever from itself, does not help to speed up the process. Yes, the time of changing the ranges is reduced, but still remains long. In general, the marriage of engine and transmission did not have too happy.
Otherwise, Frelander is very pleasant. Practically does not roll in corners, reliably slow down at any speed, does not annoy excessive shaking, intelligently helps the driver of electronics fight with a skid, protects from stress on steep slopes of off -road, activating the Hill Descent Control system (it slows down each of the ABS wheels and automatically It maintains speed within 9 km/h, and works both when moving forward and when moving in reverse). In general, off -road elements of a British SUV. The permanent all -wheel drive system, a kind of business card Land Rover, together with a long -flowing pendant form almost an ideal pair, which nothing is bumpy of larynx. You can go along them at least 70 km/h, not afraid of the breakdown of the suspension. And in the cabin, it doesn’t shake too much, as if somewhere between the body and the chair formed an air cushion. Of course, Freelander is hardly more serious for exploits, it is unlikely to combine, as well as its competitors Honda CR-V, Subaru Forester, Toyota Rav4. But in everyday life, the possibilities with which he have can be a good help, especially for those who periodically select on the bosom of nature, to hunt or go fishing.
Now about things more prosaic. Restyled prices Land Rover Freelander start from a 31,000 euros. HSE modification, which has been on our test, costs about 4,000 more. Warranty 3 years or 100,000 km of run. Not cheap, especially considering the recent fall of the dollar in relation to the euro. However, the car became a little different. More solid and modern outside and inside. However, I could not answer the question for myself: whether the updated Frelander can strengthen my position in the reliability rating. Since I did not find anything fundamentally new from a technical point of view, except for the described changes in the work of automatic transmission, and, moreover, found in official press releases. Perhaps the British changed suppliers of components against the background of a sharp improvement in the quality of the assembly. But nothing also reports about this. In a word, we will see
Brief technical characteristics of Land Rover Freelander
Engine volume, cubic meter. See: 2497
The number of valves for the cylinder: 4
Power, l. With. at about./min.: 177/6250
Max. Torque, Nm/at about. min.: 240/4000
Acceleration to 100 km/h, p.: 11,1
Maximum speed, km/h: 182
Average fuel consumption l./100 km.: 12.4
Fuel tank volume, l.: 64
Dimensions, mm.: 4445x1805x1760
Sergey Ilyinsky
